PayPal has updated its iOS and Android apps with new functionality which allows you to search for local shops and restaurants where you can pay with PayPal, and then pay by checking in.
The design of the app has also gone through a refresh.
With the new design of the app, we’ve made it easier than ever for our customers to pay when they’re in-store and send money to friends. Of course, because we’re PayPal, paying with your phone doesn’t mean you have to give up choice. We have made it even easier to pay using your bank account in one store and your credit card at the next place.
You can take a look at the app in action in PayPal’s video:
The Local element will naturally work best when there are a large number of shops and restaurants who offer PayPal payments in the local area. Sadly, here in the West Midlands, there are not yet that many. As the screenshot below shows, the closest to me in nearly 2 miles away, and given the lack of information, I’m not even sure what goods or services the closest provider even offers:
Here’s a better example from PayPal themselves:
And when you’re at the merchant, you can check-in with a swipe of your finger to pay:
The app has also added the ability to order ahead at some restaurants, pay whilst you’re sat at your table, and even order more items off the menu, such as more drinks, from within the app, although it’s not clear if this is available anywhere in the UK yet. These new areas of functionality suggest that PayPal is keen on taking its app beyond just being a replacement for your wallet; this is starting to do things that your wallet couldn’t even dream of doing.
Read more about the new-look PayPal app: